


Warm Blood

by thehorrorinsymmetry



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Because I can, M/M, Trans Poe, and, cw for blood, finn's a vampire poe's a nurse, it doesn't come up in this fic but it's a thing for this au, mentions of past violence, they're not technically together but like trust me it's a Thing, trans Finn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 04:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13628487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehorrorinsymmetry/pseuds/thehorrorinsymmetry
Summary: Finn doesn't think that feeding on a human could ever be a good idea. Poe disagrees.





	Warm Blood

**Author's Note:**

> cw - finn feeds from poe so there's the amount of blood you would expect and there's also some mentions of finn being attacked when he was turned

“I want you to feed from me.”

He stares at Poe. “What?”

“I want you to feed from me.”

“I heard the sentence, Poe.” He crosses his arms over his chest and tries to figure out if it’s some kind of joke. “Did you hit your head on something?”

Poe rolls his eyes. “I’m serious.”

“I am too. I told you I don’t drink from humans.“ A chill runs down his spine, invisible fingers hovering over his scar, teeth on his neck. “It’s dangerous. Why would you even want me to?”

Poe huffs. “If you can make it safe for animals you can make it safe for me, and - isn’t it better if I say yes? I can give consent that an animal can’t.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I -“ Poe stops. He puts the dishcloth down and turns to face Finn completely. “It’s something I can do for you, yeah? You need it to live, and I - it’s just like a blood donation, just - straight from the source.”

He blinks. “You’re telling me you don’t have a problem just giving up your blood.”

“It’s not like it’d be all of it.” Poe huffs. “It wouldn’t even hurt me, really. It’s not like I’m just losing it for no reason, it’d be for you.”

“Blood is supposed to stay in your body, Poe.”

Poe laughs, the warm tone only amplifying the discomfort swirling within him. “Says the vampire.”

He takes a deep breath and exhales as slow as he can, focuses on the movement in his chest, the dim light coming from the ceiling lamp, Bee spread out on the floor next to them, everything that tells him he’s not back on that street again. “It’s not a joke. It - that was the single worst moment of my life. It’s dangerous and I’m not going to risk your life for no reason.”

“You’re not going to risk my life at all. I know you.” Poe steps closer and raises a hand but thinks better of it, putting it on the counter and tapping a rapid beat with his fingertips. “I  _ trust _ you. I’m safe with you.”

“You don’t know that.  _ I _ don’t know that.”

Poe takes a deep breath. “I do.”

“How? Has someone fed on you before?”

“No, but -“

“But nothing, Poe.” He drags his lips between his teeth and glances down at the ground. “It’s not a pleasant experience, even if you don’t end up sick or dead or - or like me. There’s no need to do it. I don’t  _ want _ to do it. I’m not going to put you through something like that.”

“I -“

“Please,” He swallows. “Let it go.”

Poe watches him for a moment, a deep line sketched across his forehead as cogs turn behind his eyes, but he nods once. “Okay.”

 

—

 

Poe doesn’t let it go. Not entirely.

He doesn’t bring it up directly but he does ask questions, edging around the issue like a surgeon scraping the healthy tissue at the edge of a tumour. Poe’s stubbornness makes him a great nurse, his ability to keep attacking a target head on until he got what he needed something Finn’s always admired about him.

He’s never been the subject of it before.

He asks Finn about his feeding habits, about the relationship between vampires and humans, about how the qualities of the blood affects him. He asks questions that Finn doesn’t know the answers to, questions Finn doesn’t know  _ how _ he’d know the answer to, dancing around the subject with the subtlety of a bull in a china shop.

Four days after the talk they’re out late, walking Bee together after Poe got back from a shift at the hospital. It’s still warm out, the chill of fall just beginning to encroach on the city, the leaves just a few shades dimmer than they’d been last week.

Bee’s running ahead and pausing to sniff at a new smell until she’s behind them again, her enthusiasm a sharp contrast to Poe’s sluggish gate, the heavy bags under his eyes.

“Did you know that a healthy adult can give two pints of blood without any issues?”

Something snaps within him, pulling him to an abrupt halt on the sidewalk. “Why can’t you let this go?”

“Let what go?”

“ _ Don’t _ play stupid, Poe.” A spark pushes against his ribcage, tight and angry in his chest. “I told you it’s not a good idea.”

Poe looks around them for a moment, his mouth drawn in a tight line when he finally meets Finn’s gaze. “You’re wrong.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re wrong.” Poe doesn’t budge when Bee pulls at her leash, not so much as glancing away from him. “You’re wrong about this.”

He crosses his arms. “Okay, Poe, tell me how I - as the only one of us who’s actually been fed on - could be wrong about this.”

“I spoke with Leia.”

He blinks. “What?”

Poe deflates as he rubs a hand over his face. “After you told me. I wanted to learn more about - about all of this. We didn’t talk about you, but - it’s so obvious, Finn.”

The street is quiet at this hour, it would be easy to slip away without causing a big scene, to leave and escape to the safety of his apartment a couple blocks away. “What’s obvious?”

“You hate being a vampire.”

He scoffs. “Of course I do, becoming a vampire was the single worst moment of my life.”

“It’s not who you are - it doesn’t have to be who you are.” Poe sighs, his voice softening when he speaks again. “You’re so focused on getting revenge but what’s going to happen after?”

“I don’t -“

“Exactly!” Poe huffs. “What happened to You was awful and you didn’t choose to be a vampire, but it doesn’t have to be how you define vampires - how you define  _ yourself _ . You’re - you’re the best man I’ve ever met. Being a vampire doesn’t change that.”

“It changes everything, Poe.”

“It doesn’t.”

“How do you know that?” He snaps. “How? You didn’t even know I was a vampire until a few months ago.”

“That’s how I know! Before I knew that I thought you were the best man I’d ever met and that hasn’t changed at all since you told me.” Poe shakes his head. “I can’t just sit and watch you hate yourself over something that doesn’t even matter.”

Tense lines form across Poe’s face as he clenches his jaw and drops Finn’s gaze to look down at Bee. “I don’t - I don’t know how to help you with this but I hate seeing you like this.”

He doesn’t move again until long after Poe and Bee disappear around the corner.

 

\--

 

The next few days pass by slowly, inching by in a thick quiet that makes the space Poe normally takes up suffocating in its vastness. He sees only a glimpse of Poe’s back in the hallway, occasionally hears the telltale taps of Bee’s paws from across the hall.

He can’t stop thinking about what Poe said.

Leia calls him on the third night, inviting him over for tea, to catch up. The next thing he knows he’s standing on her doorstep, shivering as he waits for her to open the door.

She greets him with a warm smile. “Finn,”

“Did Poe ask you to do this?”

Leia’s mouth tilts up. “Come in.”

 

-

 

“Poe didn’t ask me to speak with you.” Leia leads him towards the kitchen with her usual grace. “But he is worried about you.”

He lowers himself onto a chair with a sigh. “He should be more worried about himself.”

Leia pours a cup of tea, steam rising up and disappearing as she places it in front of him. She squeezes his shoulder. “How are you, Finn?”

He watches her for a moment. “Have you ever fed off someone? A human?”

“I have.”

He blinks, the words that were on the tip of his tongue disappearing at her answer, rough in his throat when he swallows. “I thought - I thought vampires don’t do that.”

“As a general rule, we don’t. It usually leads to problems.” She pauses, staring into space. “It’s not something to take lightly, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it must be avoided or feared.”

He stares at her. “So what would you call what happened to me?”

“Evil.” Leia holds his gaze. “What my son did to you was evil. I would never say otherwise but that’s not the case for every feeding, Finn. You know we’re capable of feeding from animals without harming them, it doesn’t have to be different with humans.”

“Then why isn’t it common practice?”

Leia doesn’t rise to the challenge in his voice, her gaze seeing right through him. “The act of feeding as a vampire is intense. It’s not as simple as killing your prey. It’s intimate.”

He swallows.

“That intimacy can be used to harm, to kill, to gain power over someone, but it can simple be feeding. With a stranger it’s often uncomfortable,” She looks up at him. “But with a stranger it’s - different.”

He shakes his head. “You’re still hurting them -”

“About as much as a blood test, yes.” Leia leans forward and coves his hand with her own. “I’m not going to tell you to feed from Poe. That’s a big decision that the two of you would need to make together, but I think he has a point.”

“I’m sorry?” He blinks. “You think that Poe has a point? The man that wants to give me his  _ blood _ has a point?”

“I’ve known you for a long time, Finn.” She squeezes his hand. “You had the worst introduction to this life of any vampire I’ve known but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a good life now, as a vampire.”

“This isn’t a life  _ at all _ \- it’s not like being human -”

“No, it’s not.” She grins at him. “That doesn’t mean it has to be bad.”

He looks down at the mug. “I never wanted this.”

“Have I ever told you how I was turned?”

He looks up at her. “Your father, right?”

Leia nods. “He wanted more vampires on his side when the Great War* was beginning.”

He blinks.

“My father was Anakin Skywalker.”

“Anakin Skywalker as in one of the most powerful vampires in history Anakin Skywalker?”

“He was my biological father.” Leia takes a sip of her tea.” He abandoned my brother and I when we were very young. I was adopted by my parents, Bail and Breha, and my brother was sent to relatives of our father. Twenty years later the war was reaching its peak and Anakin believed there was something in his blood - our blood - that made us strong. Powerful. He tracked us down and turned us so that we could take our rightful place in the war.”

“Leia,” He swallows. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It takes time to adjust to this kind of life. You don’t need to see my baggage while you’re still adjusting.” Leia smiles, a bittersweet twist that falls short of her eyes. “I spent a long time trying to fight what had already happened. I lost years and people that I cared about before I was able to accept what he’d done.”

He stares at the table.

“I don’t want you to have the same experience, Finn. Not to the extent that I did.” Leia sighs. “A lot of our history is derived from hate, from a lack of understanding, but that pattern can be broken.”

“How?” His throat aches, dry as if he hadn’t spoken in years. “How is that possible?”

Leia smiles. “You can always choose love, Finn. By feeding responsibly, by not taking part in the power games, by making choices the same way you did as a human.”

“I wouldn’t choose to take someone’s blood as a human.”

“Breastfeeding a child, taking care of someone when they’re ill, travelling long distances to be with someone, working long hours to save up for food or gifts or a home that you share with others. Giving your energy to someone is one way to show you care.” Crows feet grow at the edges of her eyes, her dark eyes warm, comforting. “For us, feeding can have a place on that list.”

Leia’s words sink into him, squeezing into a spot that doesn’t quite fit. “That’s different.”

“It’s not.” Leia shakes her head. “It takes time to see it, to  _ believe _ it, but it turns out that thing that makes someone tick, that makes someone love, isn’t exclusive to humans. It’s not lost when someone is turned. It may hide, but it’s right where it’s always been. You haven’t changed, Finn.”

“I have changed, I’ve -”

“Your diet, yes. Your sleeping pattern, a few other things that don’t truly define you.” She pats his hand. “You’re recovering from major trauma but you’re still the same person at heart.”

He pulls his hand away, takes a slow sip of his tea. The heat floods his mouth, almost burning, a welcome distraction from the sharp edge in his chest.

“Poe isn’t a subtle man, but he cares for you dearly. You’re trying to protect him for the same reason. You’re a good man, Finn. Not every vampire is strong enough to hold onto their humanity.”

He nods slowly.

“None of this means you need to feed from Poe, of course.” Leia grins. “That man has a tendency to dive in headfirst without looking. Just look at it the same way you’d look at anything and you’ll figure it out.”

Leia moves on and begins to fill him in on her brother’s latest work.

It always seems so simple coming from her.

 

\--

 

Poe shows up at his door with a tired smile and an invitation for pizza and a trashy movie the next night.

He accepts the unspoken apology written in greasy slices of pepperoni pizza. They share the couch like always, Bee laying at their feet. The giant invisible elephant takes up the space behind them, between them, taking up the air in the room, keeping him from focusing on the nonsensical movie playing a few feet away.

He tries anyway.

Poe’s barely made any jokes, seemingly much more interested in the character’s plight than he usually would be. He eats slowly and barely looks away from the tv, his leg bouncing away hard enough to make the couch shift.

Finn knows he’s walking on eggshells around him.

They’ve had moments - a few, in the past few months - where the air became tense, when Poe would go quiet. In those moments it felt like the unspoken thing between them was close to the surface, like maybe his feelings for Poe weren’t one-sided after all. It was a good tense, like they were slowly working towards something, a kind of excitement Finn hasn’t felt in years.

This isn’t anything like that. This is stifling, the kind of uncomfortable that tells him to run, to leave, to detach himself from this whole thing and try again somewhere else.

It’s ridiculous. He knows it is, Poe’s his best friend and this whole thing started because he doesn’t want to lose him.

His conversation with Leia did make it a bit easier to see where Poe was coming from. It was still strange to consider feeding to be something other than - his experience with it. He’d always assumed that it was taboo, that it had to take something big for Leia to want to avoid it.

He’d never thought it would be to protect him.

The way she’d looked as she told him about feeding from a loved one…

He can’t deny that he wants that. Something like that.

He wants to have more than revenge. More than a friendship where he hides pieces of himself.

He looks over at Poe.

“I spoke with Leia today.”

Poe turns his head towards Finn, his leg stilling. “Oh?”

He nods. “I need you to understand how big this is to me, okay?”

“I know, I do -” Poe bites his lip. “I’m sorry about how I brought it up.”

He reaches out, the knot in his chest easing when Poe’s hand meets his in the space between their bodies. “What happened - what he did to me was the single worst moment of my life. It took me two weeks just to recover enough to find Leia.”

Poe squeezes his hand.

“My entire life since then has been about that moment. Trying to recover from it, to make him pay for what he’s done to me - to his other victims -” He takes a deep breath. “Trying to figure out who I am -  _ what _ I am now.”

Poe rubs his thumb back and forth over the side of his hand, waiting for him to continue.

He bites the inside of his cheek. “You were the only good thing that happened to me, after that. I didn’t think I’d be able to get close to anyone as a - as this - but then you showed up and it just happened.”

Poe smiles. “I’m glad it did.”

“Me too.” Heat rushes through his face when he meets Poe’s gaze. “But - I want to keep it that way. I never want to hurt you or - or make this your life too.”

“I appreciate the gesture, but I think it’s a little too late for that.” Poe’s grin, the sudden pinkness in his cheeks softens the spike of anxiety that tears through his chest. “See, you’re a part of my life - a pretty important one - and so even if I didn’t know it until pretty recently, vampires have been a part of my life for a while now.”

He takes a deep breath.

“No matter how badly it started or how unusual it might be, you deserve a good life. A life where you can be comfortable with your whole identity.” Poe looks down at their joined hands, gently pushing Finn’s hand open and lacing their fingers together. “The last thing I want to do is make you uncomfortable, but - I want to see you be relaxed like you used to be without having to hide this big part of yourself.”

He swallows. “Three weeks.”

“What?”

“If I’m - if I’m going to feed from you I need to know that you really understand what you’re getting into.” He grips Poe’s hand tight. “I know you already said you would, but I need to make sure you’re not going to regret it, or - or hate me for it. If you still want to do it in three weeks, then I’ll feed on you.”

He stares at Poe, watching for a twitch, dropped eye contact, any possible sign of hesitance, anything that could tell him Poe doesn’t actually want to be fed on. Instead, Poe’s mouth tilts up in a soft smile. “I could never hate you, Finn.”

“I’m being serious -”

“- I know, me too. I’ll wait, we can talk about whatever you want to talk about, okay? But I could never hate you.” Poe leans closer and cups Finn’s jaw with his free hand. “Not in a million years.”

He breathes in slowly against the swell of emotion rushing through him. “You don’t have to, okay? You don’t need to give me a reason, if you don’t want to just tell me, okay?”

“I will.” Poe nods, still smiling. “I promise I’ll tell you if I change my mind, okay? And you too, you can. For any reason.”

He leans into Poe’s touch, closer to the warmth that eases the ache in his chest. “Want to, uh, finish the movie?”

Poe blinks, looking over at the tv like he’d forgotten it was still on. He breathes a laugh and drops his hand, turning away from Finn. “Yeah, that sounds good. What was even happening before we started talking?”

“Uh, somebody was yelling at someone else over something?”

Poe laughs, settling against Finn’s side. He rolls his head on the back of the couch and grins at Finn. “It’s a pretty awful movie, huh?”

“Worse than usual, yeah.”

Poe sighs, resting his head against Finn’s shoulder. “Wanna hear about a patient I had yesterday?”

“Yeah,” He relaxes into the couch and lets their entwined hands settle on his thigh, feeling lighter than he has in a long time. “I really do.”

 

\--

 

They talk about feeding over the next three weeks more than Finn has in the time since he’s been turned. He tells Poe how it will feel, the pinch of the bite, the chemicals that will make it feel good an instant later.

He spends a lot of time describing how the animals tend to react - the initial wariness, the way they lean into him as he feeds and the grogginess that comes after. With his encouragement Poe’s curiosity runs wild, a near constant stream of questions that jump from topic to topic to topic, that makes him realize just how much Poe had held back when he told him he was a vampire in the first place.

It takes a week for him to talk about Kylo Ren.

He’s never actually discussed what happened before now. Leia had figured it out on her own, from his wounds and brand new fangs, and he’d never discussed the specifics with Rey or Rose. He’d be content to leave it forever, to never speak of that night for the rest of his life - however long it’ll be now - and pretend that he just happened to become a vampire but Poe -

Poe is prepared to give up a piece of himself to Finn,  _ for _ him, just to make him feel good about this part of him. That simple piece of knowledge leaves questions burning a hole in the back of his mind, spending restless nights staring at the bedroom ceiling wondering how he’d managed to get here.

Regardless of whatever prompted Poe to do this for him, he can’t go through with it without knowing that Poe is as informed as he can be.

That definitely includes knowing how bad it can be. The one silver lining is he knows that if Poe becomes distressed enough the calming effect should wear off. It doesn’t hold the same solace as knowing what that threshold is, but it’s something.

Leia joins them for dinner at the end of the second week so that Poe can have a second opinion. The world has seemed to shrunk around them as they get closer to the three week mark, the air becoming thick between them whenever the topic comes up. Leia’s presence is meant to give Poe a second opinion - a chance to talk to someone he trusts that knows what’s going on but isn’t directly involved, either.

As they’re waiting for Leia to arrive Poe tells him he’s been talking to Leia about it since their conversation.

It makes sense, really. It’s good, he should have thought about it before now. He’s glad they’ve been talking, even when the dinner turns out to be - not what he’d planned.

It’s still nice to spend time with both Leia and Poe, but - she looks at them with something in her gaze, like she knows something he doesn’t.

It hardly eases the tension.

Despite the suddenly glacial pace of time, three weeks pass.

They’d already planned it out over the past week - they’d do it Friday evening so Poe could take it easy the next day. Finn would have already fed once so he’d be as level-headed as he could be. It’s a good plan but the theoretical is so very different from reality.

A thousand scenarios run through his head when he wakes up on the big day. His stomach twists as he has breakfast, apparently having shrunk as he tried to sleep. He makes himself eat anyway.

He goes over their plans in his head, reviewing every detail, so focused on it that he jumps in his seat when someone knocks on his door.

He freezes and tries to remember if there’d been footsteps in the hallway just now.

“Finn? It’s me,” Poe’s voice filters through the door, soft and making his pulse spike all the same.

He takes a deep breath when he’s in front of the door, before pulling it open. “Hey,”

“Hey buddy,” Poe grins at him, still in his bright orange scrubs. “I just got off work, give me like fifteen minutes so I can let Bee out, then you can come over.”

“Fifteen minutes.”

Poe nods, making no real move to leave. “Fifteen.”

He bites his lip. “Did you need something else?”

“Oh!” Poe blinks, laughing. “No, I’ll, uh -“ He spins and pulls his keys out, opening his door. “I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Fifteen minutes, yeah.”

He leans against the door frame and watches Poe disappear into his apartment, flashing a smile at Finn before he shuts the door.

 

—

 

Seventeen minutes later he stands in front of Poe’s door and tries to remember if the off-white board had ever seemed this intimidating before.

He takes a deep breath and knocks on it anyway.

“Come in!”

Bee jumps on him before he gets the door all the way open. She cries out, trying to press her body against his legs even as her tail wags hard enough to make her entire torso wiggle.

He pets her slowly to calm her down, and looks around the otherwise empty apartment. “Poe?”

“M’here,” Poe pads out from his bedroom. A strip of soft, golden skin peeking out above his pants as he tugs at his shirt. “Wanted to change. Y’know, easy access.”

He swallows. “I told you -“

“- I know you said you could bite my wrist but wouldn’t it be easier on my neck?” Poe runs his thumb over his wrist. “The veins are all so small.”

“That’s the point. The larger it is the greater the chances of you losing too much blood. I’m not biting your neck on the first time.”

Poe lifts an eyebrow. “But the second time is okay?”

“Poe.”

Poe bites his lip, the corner of his mouth pulling upwards anyway. “Okay, your loss. You know, I’ve heard that neck blood is tastier but if that’s what you really want -“

“It is, yeah, thanks.” He glances away. “Have you eaten?”

“Yes, mom.”

“Poe.”

Poe grins at him, like he’s humouring him. “I just had a snack like five minutes ago.”

“Have dinner first.”

Poe sighs. “I’m okay, Finn. Really.”

He sighs and heads into the kitchen, opening the sparse pantry. “What do you want for dinner?”

“Finn.”

“I’m about to drink some of your blood, the least I can do is make you some food first.” He checks the fridge and tries to figure out what he can make with some milk, cheese, and half a bag of salad. “Do you have pasta?”

Poe pulls himself up onto the counter. “You don’t have to make me dinner, buddy.”

“How about a sandwich? How hungry are you?”

Poe smiles. “A sandwich would be great.”

It takes a few minutes of scavenging but he manages a half-decent sandwich. He makes a salad to go with it, adding some ingredients to it to make it look slightly less sad. 

He passes the plate to Poe. “Eat up.”

“Thank you.” Poe pulls the drawer under him open and grabs a fork. “You know, I didn’t think a vampire would be this good at cooking.”

“First of all, it’s kind of depressing that you consider making a sandwich cooking.” He rolls his eyes to himself as he tidies up. “Two, you  _ know _ I eat food. We eat together all the time.”

Poe wags his eyebrows, his cheeks bulging from the bite he just took. “Yeah but this is special, ‘s the first time you’re eating me.”

“I’m not going to eat you, dumbass.”

“You’re going to eat part of me, yeah.”

He rolls his eyes. Poe ignores him in favour of stuffing the rest of the sandwich into his mouth. “We don’t have to, you know. We can call it off.”

Poe shakes his head. “We’re doing this, buddy. I just ate a sandwich for you.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Oh, was that difficult? It took a lot out of you to eat the sandwich I made for you, was it?”

Poe laughs. “No, shut up, it was a great sandwich. But you did that for me, now I’m going to do this for you.”

“I don’t think we can really equate making a sandwich with giving someone some of your blood.”

“We’ve been having this same conversation for ages, buddy. We’re good.” Poe meets his gaze, his dark eyes piercing through Finn like he’s completely transparent. “I’m ready.”

“Are you feeling tired? Sick?”

Poe shakes his head. “I got a great sleep last night, work was only the normal level of tiring. I’m good.”

“You didn’t skip any meals?”

Poe pulls his lips between his teeth, his mouth drawn in a flat line. “I know you’re nervous but I need you to trust me, okay? I’ve followed everything we talked about.”

He swallows. “Okay.”

Poe tilts his head, assessing. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

He nods. “With anyone else, I - but I trust you.”

Poe’s smile is easily worth the fluttering tightness in his chest.

 

—

 

They end up in Poe’s bedroom.

It’s the same tidy, well lived in space it was the last time he’d been here, except - except the last time he’d been here he hadn’t watched Poe crawl onto the bed, hadn’t looked at him like - that.

Poe pats the space beside him, his gaze still heavy on Finn’s. “Gonna join me?”

Air caught in his throat, he kneels on the bed. Poe’s spread out in front of him, a veritable buffet that makes him ache, makes every morsel of himself wish this was a different situation, that he was a different person.

He blinks.

His fangs still ache when he opens his eyes again, the same tension in his gut from knowing he’s about to feed.

He clenches his jaw. Poe holds his arm out toward him, revealing the soft skin of his wrist, paperthin, veins painted a soft blue underneath. He takes Poe’s hand between both of his and digs his thumbs in, pressing into muscle and ligament alike.

Poe has beautiful hands. Well worn, dry from washing so often at work, but strong. Sure. Hands that check vitals and reassure nervous patients and administer treatments one after the next. Hands that heal. Not that he’d ever be able to say that to Poe.

He takes his time with Poe’s palm, slowing moving up to his wrist, his heart racing as he feels the same heat his own hands once possessed.

Poe’s gaze never strays from him. “You never mentioned this was part of feeding.”

“It’s not.” He shrugs, glancing up from their hands. “You deserve more than some quick perfunctory thing, and it should go a little smoother if you’re relaxed from the start.”

Poe wraps his hand around Finn’s, his fingers grazing over the back of Finn’s hand, blazing hot. “I’m glad you’re not going to just dine and dash.”

He laughs, a rush of breath, and presses his fingertips into Poe’s wrist until he feels Poe’s pulse, a steady beat against his skin. He shifts up to the band of skin a shade lighter, that will be hidden under his watch. “Here.”

Poe takes his arm back and presses his thumb into the spot Finn had pointed out, a line forming across his forehead. “Are you sure you don’t want to use my neck? This is so small.”

“Yes,” He swallows. “I’m sure.”

Poe breathes a laugh, settling lower on the bed. “Okay, dig in.”

He lets his fangs out, the ache more pronounced with Poe’s gaze on his mouth. Poe’s own mouth is open a sliver, the flat edge of his teeth gleaming. “If you want me to stop for any reason -“

“- Just say stop, I know.” Poe shifts, rubbing the side of his foot against Finn’s leg. “Bite me.”

“Or tap on me.” He lowers down onto his abdomen, shifting Poe’s arm so the wrist is under his head. “Are you comfortable?”

“Mhm.”

He takes a deep breath. He can feel the weight of Poe’s gaze on him as he spreads Poe’s palm out, leaving his hand to rest on Poe’s, lowering his head until the tip of his nose grazes Poe. Glancing up one last time, Poe’s gaze shoots through him, sparks and debris in its wake.

The skin gives way like paper under a knife.

The blood hits him, dizzy at the richness, the exquisite metallic taste that pours over him. The satisfaction is amplified by Poe’s taste, Poe giving him something he needs, letting him do this to him. Poe’s surrounding him, an embrace that warms him from the inside out. 

His neck strains as he looks up at Poe, taking in the flushed cheeks, the heavy-lidded gaze, his parted lips. Poe cups Finn’s head, brushing his thumb over Finn’s cheek. “Feels good.”

He lets his eyes fall shut and focuses on slowing his movement, easing the flow. He retracts his fangs, two crimson beads forming on Poe’s wrist before he covers it with his hand. 

Poe’s gaze meets his, blinking slowly. He represses a shudder as Poe’s fingers brush down his neck. “Are you okay?”

“Mhm,” Poe hums, licking his lips. “S’weird. Felt good though,”

He pushes up onto his knees. The two puncture marks have clotted, already less noticeable than a moment before. He pulls out the alcohol swab and band-aids he’d grabbed from his apartment, cleaning off the dry blood. “You’re sure?”

Poe nods, grinning as he touches the band-aids Finn had just applied. “Definitely better than a blood test.”

He breathes a laugh, trying to read any sign of discomfort poe might be trying to hide.

Poe just smiles back at him. “You know, you’d make a really good nurse.”

“Yeah?”

Poe nods, sitting up and cupping Finn’s cheek. “Mm, you have a great bedside manner.”

He contracts the muscles at the corners of his mouth, his lips curling up into a small smile. It’s not enough, not near enough, but what does one say when someone just gave them the most intimate gift of their life?

Poe’s gaze drops to his mouth, blinking again. “You have -“ Poe points towards him in a way that tells him absolutely nothing.

He begins to ask Poe what he means but before he manages a full syllable Poe reaches toward him and brushes his thumb over the edge of Finn’s mouth. He freezes, but Poe pulls away and wipes his thumb on his shirt. “You had - uh, some of my blood on you.”

He stares at Poe, at the lines that crinkle the edges of his eyes. “Is this really not weird for you?”

“I mean, it’s the first time a friend’s sucked some blood out of my wrist,” Poe smiles, cupping his cheek again. “But no, it’s not weird. ‘M happy to do this for you.”

He stares at Poe. Poe’s gaze drops, flickering to his mouth. It would be so easy - to lean in, to taste Poe’s kiss the way he’d tasted his blood just minutes before. He could press his body against Poe’s, press him into the mattress, feel his heat without any layers between them.

He leans back. “Just lay down, okay? I’ll be right back.”

 

—

 

He squeezes the edge of the kitchen counter until his knuckles go pale. His heart is racing, his chest too tight for a full breath.

Poe’s taste lingers on his tongue, the ghost of Poe’s fingers on his face, his hair, his neck. He can still smell the soap Poe had used to wash. His entire world has been boiled down to the man laying in the next room, an entire universe in this one bedroom apartment. 

Poe gave him his blood.

Poe let Finn feed from him, gave him a piece of the very thing that keeps him alive. His heart is beating that much stronger because of Poe -  _ with _ Poe - and Poe never flinched. They’ve been talking about this for three weeks. Three weeks of discussing worst case scenarios, possible complications, Finn’s experience, and Poe laid there with him. For him. Vulnerable, relaxed, utterly comfortable as Finn fed from him.

He pushes away from the counter. Poe’s waiting for him. He grabs a granola bar and some orange juice and pads back into the bedroom, pausing at the sight of Poe curled up.

Poe smiles at him, lifting his fingers in a wave. “Hey, you.”

“Hey,” He sits on the edge of the bed and holds the snack out. “You should eat this soon, okay?”

Poe takes the glass from him, the muscles in his neck shifting as he downs it in one breath. He stretches over Finn’s thighs to reach the nightstand, his hand landing on Finn’s knee to keep him balanced. He leans back and pats the space beside him. “Stay for a bit?”

“Of course.” He turns and leans against the headboard, stretching his legs out in front of him. “How are you feeling?”

“Great,” Poe curls into him, his forehead pressing against Finn’s shoulder until he wraps his arm around Poe. “Little sleepy, but it felt good. Like, a little drunk? But just a little.”

He breathes out, a laugh, a rush of relief, grateful in a way he’ll never be able to properly express. He nuzzles the top of Poe’s head, running his fingers down Poe’s arm. “Thank you.”

Poe smiles against his shoulder, his fingers loosely gripping Finn’s shirt. “What’s a little blood between friends?”

He laughs.

“How was it for you? Was it good blood?”

“It was -,” He bites his lip, not sure what word could possibly encapsulate what they’d done. “I didn’t think it could be like that.”

Poe twists, half facing him, captivating even at that ridiculous angle. “I’m really glad to hear that, Finn.”

He runs his fingers through Poe’s hair. Poe’s lashes flutter as he glances down but Finn keeps his back on the headboard, his embrace relaxed. Poe nudges his jaw, relaxing against his shoulder once again. 

Perhaps one day, they’ll have something different. They’ll discuss the - thing - between them, maybe even find themselves this close again in a new context. He wants it, wants everything Poe is willing to share with him, but that’s not for tonight.

Tonight Poe showed him how much he cares about him. He did something for Finn that nobody could ask of someone else, willingly,  _ eagerly _ . He’d convinced Finn to do this and it had gone exactly how Poe said it would. This is enough.

It’s been a long time since he felt this alive.

**Author's Note:**

> i've never written vampires before and i didn't think i would bc it was never really a thing for me but angel and i had this vampire au that i really loved and i wanted to write something for them for christmas so this happened (this took almost two months lol i'm really boned if i ever have to write on a deadline)
> 
> thanks for reading!


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